Thailand seizes tigers, lions in wildlife bust

Thai authorities seized more than 200 live animals, including tigers and lions among other rare species, in a raid on an illegal wildlife supplier on Wednesday, police said.

“The owner cannot provide legal documents for the five tigers, so he was charged with violating the Wild Animal Preservation and Protection law,” Lieutenant Colonel Adtapon Sudsai of the Nature Crime Police told AFP.

Police said they were verifying the owner’s claim that he had the necessary permits for the other animals.

If convicted the suspect – named as 52-year-old Yutthasak Suthinan – faces up to four years in prison and a fine of 40,000 baht ($1,300), he said.

As well as the five tigers, police found 13 albino lions, two orangutans, two red pandas, four flamingos and two camels, along with many other species.

The animal protection group Freeland Foundation, quoting Thai police, said the supplier was part of a global network importing protected animals from countries in Africa and elsewhere and breeding them for illegal sale.

The discovery at a compound in eastern Saraburi Province was based on evidence gathered following a raid last month on a house in Bangkok where officers caught four men in the act of chopping up a tiger.

Elephant, zebra, wildebeest and lion remains were found last month at the Bangkok home, as well as meat kept in a refrigerator that police and wildlife activists said could have been destined for human consumption.

Thailand, a hub of international smuggling, is one of just 13 countries hosting fragile tiger populations. Worldwide, numbers are estimated to have fallen to only 3,200 tigers from approximately 100,000 a century ago.

Hope these animals are saved! They are worth thousands of dollars are the black market and are treated so cruelly!